Full-Scale Testing of Double-Overhanging Girders Subjected to Various Loading and Restraint Conditions

The Gerber roof framing system is widely used in large single-storey buildings such as supermarkets and big box stores. Three collapses of this system in Canada have drawn attention to the fact that little guidance is provided in the national standard for the design of steel structures, CSA Standard S16, leaving designers to develop their own methods. To address this concern, an extensive research program has been initiated at the University of Alberta with the objective of providing a comprehensive and unified design method for the Gerber system that can be adopted into S16. In order to understand the stability response of the Gerber roof framing system, full scale experimental tests will be conducted. These tests will attempt to simulate the situations seen in practice to create a method that designers can rely on. The results from the full-scale tests will then be analyzed and used to develop a safe and practical design method for the Gerber roof framing system within the Canadian steel standard.